Confessional composition of the Indian National Congress in the late 19^th - early 20^th century

The aim of this article is to study the confessional composition of the Indian National Congress in the late 19^th - early 20^th century. To achieve this aim, the following tasks are envisaged: analysis of statistical data on the composition of the organization, detection of the number of representatives of various confessional groups in the INC; clarification of the attitude of Indian religious minorities and the British colonial administration towards the INC, depending on the confessional composition of the organization. The sources of the study are the reports of the proceedings of the 1885-1909 Congress' sessions, which contain the lists of the delegates, indicating their religious affiliation; pamphlets and speeches of the one of the Congress' founders, A. O. Hume, who was the supporter of extension of the confessional and social representation in the INC. In the course of the study, the author came to the following conclusions: the peculiarities of the confessional composition of the INC were formed under the influence of India's religious diversity, and the INC had to take some measures with the aim to attract representatives of religious minorities in spite of opposition of the influential circles of the Muslim aristocracy. The religious factor was not decisive in determining the directions of the activities of the Congress due to the political nature of its declared goals. At the same time, the analysis of the confessional composition of the INC showed that the overwhelming majority of delegates to the sessions of the Congress represented the Hindu community. Among them the dominant position was occupied by representatives of the Brahmin castes who had wide access to education. Among the religious minorities the largest was the Muslim (an average of 1 to 14% of the total number of delegates, with the exception of the 1899 session). The insignificant representation of Muslims in Congress was influenced by the opposition of part of the Muslim aristocracy, the split of the INC in 1907, the establishment of the Muslim League and the preparation of the Morley-Minto reforms. A notable role in the Congress was played by the Parsis. The proportion of their delegates relative to the total number of the religious community significantly exceeded the Muslim one. The political activity of the Parsis was due to the fact that they constituted a significant part of the nascent national bourgeoisie, whose interests were expressed by the INC. In addition, Christians, Sikhs and other minorities were represented in the INC, and as a result the Congress was the only national organization capable of expressing the interests of all Indian creeds, despite opposition from part of the Muslim aristocracy and the colonial administration, which believed that the INC expressed the interests of the Hindu majority only.

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